


No Bridge Back

by VampireNaomi



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Angst, M/M, Missing Scene, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 03:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14907114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireNaomi/pseuds/VampireNaomi
Summary: Their teamwork and banter felt like they had never parted ways. Lupin thought everything else would be the same, too. Takes place during episode 10 of Part V.





	No Bridge Back

Lupin put the black notebook inside his jacket with a theatrical flip of his wrist, enjoying the resignation on Albert’s face. Even after years, it felt good to see that look. It had been a rare treat back in the day, only offered after a particularly embarrassing defeat, or when Albert had had no choice but to admit Lupin had saved his smug ass.

And the nights they’d spent together on those occasions had been rare, too. Something about being outsmarted left Albert subdued and took the worst bite out of his insults. Even after all this time. Lupin felt heat rising under his collar as he thought back to some of the affectionate words he’d managed to drag out of him, then.

“So, are we done here?” Albert asked.

“Yeah, I’ve had enough of your mug for another ten years at least.” Lupin jumped to his feet, more annoyed than he wanted to admit. He’d just saved Albert from getting blown up, so some gratitude would have been welcome.

He watched Albert get up with greater difficulty than him. His right arm was hanging uselessly by his side.

“You okay?” Lupin asked. “Or is your age slowing you down?”

“I’m peachy, thank you very much. That one-eyed brat busted my arm, but I’ll live.”

“Do you want me to do something about it?”

Albert rolled his eyes. “Oh, sure. Didn’t know you had time to become a doctor in-between your thieving. Impressive.”

“I’m being serious, for once. If it’s dislocated, we can try to put it back. It’d save you a trip to a real doctor who might ask some questions.”

“I’m not so rusty that I’d be unable to come up with a convincing excuse. Freak sports accidents happen all the time. But thanks for the offer,” Albert said with a sneer, but it twisted into a grimace when he took a step forwards and pulled his arm tighter against his body.

“Look, you aren’t twenty anymore, and a desk job does things to a guy. Let me handle it. I work with someone who hurts his arm all the time, so I’ve picked up a few tricks. It’ll at least dull the pain until you can have it looked at.”

“I don’t think I can take off the coat,” Albert said, but there was no resistance in his voice.

“Let me see,” Lupin said. He fumbled inside his jacket for a pack of cigarettes and took one out with his lips. He offered the pack to Albert who eyed both it and him warily, like he wasn’t sure if those were real cigarettes and not something that’d blow up in his face.

“Geez, you’ve become mistrustful,” Lupin said, lit the cigarette in his mouth and gave it to Albert after one puff.

“You didn’t smoke Gitanes before.”

“I’ve picked up some style.” Lupin got himself a new cigarette and let it dangle between his lips as he circled to Albert’s right. He pushed on his healthy shoulder to make him sit back down. For someone who’d been afraid to take a cigarette, he was allowing himself to be put in quite a vulnerable position.

He put one hand on Albert’s injured shoulder and the other on his arm to guide it where he wanted it to be. The coat wasn’t in the way too much, so he figured there was no need to struggle taking it off. Too bad, he thought and smiled around his cigarette.

They’d patched each other up plenty of times. There was one broken leg Lupin remembered particularly well, and how they’d hidden in a forest full of enemies until their ride had arrived in the morning. He’d kept Albert quiet with kisses and held him still when it had threatened to become unbearable. He’d never had much tolerance for pain.

His mouth felt dry, and he had to swallow before he trusted himself to talk.

“A little this way,” he said and pulled back Albert’s elbow. Apart from a hitch in his breathing, the other didn’t let his discomfort show. “That hurt?”

“Don’t play games with me. If you’re going to do it, do it.”

“Okay. On the count of three. One -”

Snap!

“Aah! Shit!” Albert lurched forwards to get away, but Lupin had expected that and clung to him, keeping him sitting on the ground. When Albert turned his head to look at him, his eyes were wide with fury. “Asshole! You didn’t finish!”

“You honestly expected I would after you made me play decoy earlier? You’ve gone soft.”

“Fuck you,” Albert growled, then focused on taking in deep breaths. 

Lupin gave his shoulder a few mocking pats of comfort. He’d popped it back into place, so it’d be good to go for the time being, certainly for the ride back to Paris. It’d probably be for the best if he drove this time, though.

“Better?” he asked.

“Good enough that I could punch your teeth in.”

“Ooh, scary. You want to play rough with me?”

“Tss!”

One of Lupin’s hands was still on Albert’s shoulder, the other holding onto his arm right above the elbow. He should have let go. But he could see the curve of Albert’s throat move with every breath he took, how his hair was damp with sweat, and Lupin couldn’t help but think about where this would go if they were fifteen years younger.

His hand moved down to rest at Albert’s hip where it had no place to be. He dug his thumb into the spot just above his thigh and watched his spine go rigid with surprise.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Albert asked, voice hoarse. His hand came to grab Lupin’s, but he didn’t push it away.

“I’m sure I don’t have to spell it out for you. Or do I need to jog your memory?” Lupin mumbled into his ear.

The color on Albert’s face told him he remembered all too well. It wasn’t the red flush of embarrassment, Lupin was sure. He’d never been shy, once you got him to open up to you.

Albert licked his lips and turned his head just enough to look at him. His eyes trapped Lupin’s breath in his throat, and it was the hardest struggle of the night not to kiss him right then. That was want on Albert’s face, unabashed and searing. For a moment, Lupin’s heart swelled with a familiar emotion that made him forget everything else.

Then, he saw Albert’s eyes flicker down, so quickly he almost missed it. Not where Lupin’s thoughts were currently at but higher, around the spot where he’d put the black book earlier. Ah. So that was it. There was a sudden, harsh taste on Lupin’s tongue, but he told himself it didn’t matter.

A thief had to do what a thief had to do. If Albert wanted to grab the black book that way, he could go ahead and try. Lupin would enjoy the ride. It wasn’t like he and Fujiko hadn’t done it many, many times while stolen objects switched hands. He had a fake book prepared in case Albert still had something of a thief’s heart left, and he felt strangely satisfied that he clearly did.

But then Albert shoved Lupin’s hand away.

“There’s someone else,” he said. 

The words were like a bucket of cold water. Lupin hadn’t forgotten, but he’d thought it irrelevant. Everything had clicked so easily back into familiar places, even after he’d told Jigen he never wanted to see Albert again in his life, even after he’d shot him only days ago. He’d thought that this’d be the same, too. That it’d turn out Albert was still the man who’d left him alone on Pont Neuf years ago. That it’d be like no time had passed.

He could tell that Albert wanted him. The hand holding his was trembling with it. One forceful kiss would be enough to break his resistance. But it was exactly that little bit of restraint he had that ruined Lupin’s mood. He would have delighted in ensnaring him if he was holding back because of his career, because it was just a bad idea in general, or even because he said he didn’t want him anymore. He would have let Albert ensnare him if he tried to be a thief and seduce the notebook out of him.

But that he was thinking about someone else, trying to remain loyal to that person even now when he couldn’t bring himself to pull away from him - that was unbearable. It made Lupin realize with sudden clarity just how much had changed. Of course there was no going back, not even for a little while. He felt like a fool.

“Yeah,” he agreed and shifted away, then rose to his feet. “Let’s get to the car.”

Albert didn’t follow him right away, for which he was glad. Lupin needed those short moments to wipe the disappointment off his face. He had to at least put up the pretense that he wasn’t rattled by this.

He had another cigarette while he waited by the car. When Albert showed up, he didn’t say anything about what had happened. Lupin didn’t know if he liked that or not. He didn’t want to let slip how serious he’d been. At the same time, he was desperate to hear him say that if only Tickey Pasco didn’t exist, then of course he’d -

Lupin butted out the cigarette on the roof of Albert’s car. He had to get a grip. Just like Albert had changed, so had he. He was no longer the whelp who’d dulled his anger and sorrow with alcohol and sex for almost a month until Gaston had put him under house arrest. 

“Straight to Paris?” he asked.

“Obviously.”

He wondered if they’d meet Goemon on the way, or if Jigen had already picked him up. For a brief moment, he’d forgotten they were also out there in the night, and remembering that was like watching a soap bubble pop. He had new people in his life, too. Maybe this feeling of being abandoned was just the ache of an old wound.

“I guess you’re more out of practice than I thought,” he said with a sneer as Albert maneuvered himself on the front seat.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look at you, moving around like an old man because of one busted arm. I have a gunshot wound and I could do a somersault!”

Albert relaxed visibly, clearly having expected something else. The beginning of a tired smile was playing on his lips.

“Perhaps,” he agreed.

“Oh, if you’re ready to admit it, then I know you’re beyond hope. I had better drive you back to your simple, cozy life.” 

There was so much more Lupin could have added to rub it in, but Albert might have thought he was being spiteful to nurse his wounded ego. Whatever direction things took from here, he didn’t want it to be backwards to how they had been a few days ago.

At first, Lupin didn’t understand what was going on when Albert told him to stop the car at Pont Neuf. Maybe he didn’t want him near his home and new life and new love. Maybe he wanted to make it a habit that they said goodbye here. Lupin was ready to slam his hands on the steering wheel in frustration and wondered if he was expected to apologize for what he’d tried that night. Then he realized what game he was playing.

The drained look on Albert’s face, the tired croak of his voice, the way he tried and failed to walk on unsteady feet, all of it was masterful. Even though he was prepared, Lupin didn’t feel his fingers as he swiped the fake notebook from his pocket and only knew for sure when he checked back inside the car.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he started the engine. Even if Albert was no longer all that he’d been to him, he was still a thief, at least. He suddenly didn't feel so lonely anymore.


End file.
